“I could lose a limb or be severely burned.”
Buying a used car from someone you trust is supposed to remove at least a little uncertainty from the process.
But one woman says a favor arranged through her best friend turned into a disaster of a magnitude she couldn’t predict. She’s just thankful to have gotten out alive.
In two videos with more than 86,000 views, model and content creator Courtney (@laydownyoursword) shares what she calls the “super fun car story” involving her now-former best friend’s boyfriend.
In the video Courtney explains that around the same time that her old car reached the end of its life her best friend had a handy solution. Her boyfriend was selling a vehicle and would give Courtney a good deal. She says they agreed on $3,800.
He dropped the car off on a Thursday night, she says, and the two signed the transfer paperwork. Courtney says they submitted the bill of sale to the DMV even though she hadn’t paid him yet. According to her, that’s because paying online wasn’t working, so she was planning to give him cash..
“He’s like, ‘No, it’s fine. Just give me the cash tomorrow,’” Courtney recalls.
On Friday, Courtney alleges that she registered the car in her name and brought it in for an inspection, which it failed. At the time, she assumed the failure could be related to sensors that needed to reset after the car had been driven more.
That same day she says she withdrew $3,800 from her bank and was on the way to give it to him when something went terribly wrong.
While driving Courtney says she noticed that the engine sounded unusually loud. Then she heard a bang, lost control, and could no longer accelerate normally. She struggled to move across traffic (she was in the left lane) before finally reaching the right shoulder.
At first, Courtney planned to call AAA since she’d dealt with smoking and mechanical problems before, so she didn’t immediately register this as an emergency. But then she recalls smelling something burning and seeing smoke near the front of the car.
“Something in my brain, whatever, my heart, my gut told me, ‘Get out of the car right now,’” she says.
Traffic was rushing past her on the driver’s side, so Courtney says she grabbed her gym bag from the passenger’s seat and tossed it to the back to be able to quickly climb out. Unfortunately her DMV documents, her wallet, personal belongings and the $3,800 in cash were all in that gym bag, she says.
When she jumped out the engine purportedly blew up and flames started spreading to the front seat right away.
She says she contemplated reaching into the back to grab her bag that had so many important documents and her “life savings” inside, but ultimately didn’t.
“I knew it was too risky. I knew I could die or lose a limb or be severely burned,” she says, adding that she witness the fire quickly spread to the back seat.
She backed away and called 911. Courtney says she was hyperventilating so badly that she struggled to tell the dispatcher where she was. Police officers and firefighters arrived, as did her friend and the friend’s boyfriend.
Courtney says she only had basic liability coverage on the car. She says she planned to increase the coverage the following day after sorting out the two-car situation.
But that meant her insurer couldn’t reimburse her for the loss, per Courtney’s retelling. And her bank couldn’t replace cash because she’d withdrawn it. A check could have been stopped, but the cash became her responsibility once she left the bank.
Then came the storage and towing costs. Courtney says the burned vehicle was taken to a junkyard that initially claimed she owed more than $1,400. She eventually negotiated the charge down and paid $600 out of pocket, she says.
Courtney says her friend’s boyfriend still wanted his $3,800 and started to aggressively ask her about when she was going to pay him.
He allegedly offered her the choice of making monthly payments, then gave her an ultimatum: pay up or he’d take her to court.
“This is just the beginning of your problems,” he allegedly told her. After she blocked his number, he purportedly filed a small-claims case and told her he intentionally chose the courthouse farthest from her to make it harder for her to get there.
Courtney says she had originally intended to absorb the loss and move on, even though the fire had cost her more than the value of the car. But she says if he was going to be petty, she could too, so she filed a countersuit seeking more than $10,000 for the cash, towing expenses, lost possessions and other damages she connected to the incident.
“Since you want to sue me, OK,” she says. “I guess not only will I have to defend myself, I might as well file a countersuit for all the money I lost.”
In a follow-up video, Courtney says that once they got their day in court, her friend’s boyfriend only had one or two pieces of evidence and did not bring the bill of sale. Courtney, meanwhile, says she had a three-inch binder.
Her evidence reportedly included information about work the seller had allegedly performed on the car himself. Courtney says he replaced the fuel pump and told her the car needed oil every two or three weeks. She also says he told her he added an entire container of oil the night before the fire, which she photographed because it seemed unusual.
Courtney says she told the arbitrator that black smoke came from the car during the incident and argued that the frequent need for oil may have pointed to a serious mechanical problem.
The court awarded her part of the damages she sought, but she didn’t say how much. But the matter may not be closed yet, because she notes that he could choose to appeal.
Despite everything, Courtney is glad she didn’t reach for the bag.
“To me, my life is more important than money,” she says. “I’m glad that I survived.”
A car fire rarely has one isolated cause. HowStuffWorks lists 10 common possibilities:
Human error, mechanical trouble and chemical hazards can also overlap.
Once a car is burning, HowStuffWorks advises occupants to get out quickly, move as far away as possible, and call the fire department. A small vehicle fire can spread rapidly, and approaching the car to retrieve money or belongings can turn a property loss into a life-threatening one.
Buying from a private seller can save money, but the trade-off is considerably less protection if the vehicle turns out to be a disaster. According to Autotrader, most privately sold used cars are treated as-is unless some of the manufacturer’s original warranty remains.
That is different from buying through a dealership. Dealers must follow the Federal Trade Commission’s Used Car Rule, which requires a Buyers Guide disclosing whether the vehicle comes with a warranty or is being sold as-is. Private sellers generally are not subject to that dealer requirement.
“As-is” does not necessarily give a seller permission to commit fraud. Autotrader says buyers may have a case when they can prove intentional misrepresentation, such as an odometer rollback or a stolen vehicle being retitled. But a car developing a problem shortly after a sale does not, by itself, prove that the seller knew about the defect or lied about it.
The buyer is also responsible for much of the paperwork in a private transaction, including confirming the title, registration requirements, taxes and transfer documents. Autotrader recommends checking the VIN through a vehicle-history report and arranging an inspection with an ASE-certified mechanic chosen by the buyer. Knowing the seller personally is not a substitute for either step.
Autotrader also recommends using a cashier’s check instead of cash so the seller can verify the payment with the bank and both parties retain a clearer paper trail.
People were torn between whose side to take.
“He sold you a death trap YOU should sue the [expletive] out of him,” a top comment read.
“100% as is, you owe the money,” a person said.
“He signed the title and bill of sale. Case closed. You don’t give a receipt unless it’s paid for. That was his mistake,” another wrote.
Motor1 reached out to Courtney via TikTok direct message and comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
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– The Motor1.com Team